


Light and life

by resqueln



Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: First Time, M/M, Post-War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-05
Updated: 2014-11-05
Packaged: 2018-02-24 05:42:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2570252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/resqueln/pseuds/resqueln
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>And just like that Nix is no longer alone in enemy territory.</i>
</p><p>A few post-war moments.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Light and life

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Based on the TV show and fanon, with no allusion to real events implied.

Three hours is how long it takes for Nix to remember why he left Nixon, New Jersey in the first place. It’s the first time in six years that he's stepped foot in his parents’ house. To his surprise, his mother hugs him. His father just gives him an indifferent nod. They ask him questions – polite and cursory and nothing about this other life that their son has been away living: was his journey okay? Did he plan on staying? They could have the maid clean out one of the bedrooms if he wanted.

 _I didn’t expect to live through the war,_ he thinks. Out of years of practice he keeps silent and helps himself to the liquor cabinet instead.

Later, when drink has loosened his mother’s tongue enough to ask pointedly about Kathy, he makes his excuses and heads upstairs to one of the spare rooms. Not really tired, he lies awake in the dark. It’s not his first night as a civilian, stateside. There had been a few days in New York; Kathy hadn’t been at the apartment, every room stripped bare of her and their son. Nix had taken a case full of stuff and left everything else. He wonders what the others are doing: Lipton, Spiers, Harry. He snorts at that. No need to guess what Harry was up to. Kitty was a lucky woman. 

He thinks briefly about Dick. Just a flash of memory – Dick sat by the Zee, sunlight and peace. Frowning, he rolls over onto his side, closes his eyes and waits for sleep.

Later that week he moves to a place on the outskirts of town – two miles away and not nearly far enough. 

-*-*

It’s late afternoon when Dick’s train pulls in and Nix lounges against the guard rail, sunglasses in place as he watches the passengers disembark in the warm glow of the setting sun. Even without the shock of bright hair, Nix would recognise Dick anywhere. The overwhelming familiarity of the way he holds himself as he steps from the train is like the long sip of whisky after a dry spell. Dick crooks an eyebrow at him, smiling warmly as he approaches, case in hand and real in a way that nothing else has been since Nix came home. Nix hooks his sunglasses down and smiles in return.

“Hey, Lew, good to see you,” Dick says, practically beaming and just like that Nix is no longer alone in enemy territory.

-*-*

The first thunder storm of the season forces him out of his bed and downstairs to find a book, whiskey, anything to distract himself from the booming noise, the flashing lights. It’s not entirely surprising to find Dick already there. He’s sat in front of the fire, long legs stretched in front of him, his eyes distant, his knuckles white on the arms of the chair.

He doesn’t register Nix’s presence at first, not until the whisky bottle clinks as Nix pulls it from the drinks cabinet. 

“Told you not to have a coffee before bed,” Nix says as he pours himself a double.

Dick huffs a laugh, the glassy looks gone from his eyes and a genuine if small smile on his face. Nix grins wryly at him and takes a long gulp. They sit together in comfortable silence until the storm thrashes itself out and the night is silent once more.

-*-*

Rosie, a good looking gal from town, starts making eyes at him.

“Why don’t you ask her out?” Dick asks, amused – perpetually amused.

Nix shrugs. He takes another drag on his cigarette, eyes following Dick as he digs the garden, sun glistening on his skin and hair. 

“I might.”

He takes Rosie to the movies, and she sits close to him, their arms brushing every time she reaches for popcorn. He doesn’t put his arm around her though, and Rosie’s eager smiles have faded by the time the lights go up. They don’t speak a word as Nix drives her home.

Dick is reading a book. He puts it down, surprised when Nix walks through the door.

“Didn’t expect you back so soon,” he says. 

“Yeah, well, film was only an hour long,” Nix says crossly.

Dick doesn’t ask.

-*-*

The next time a thunderstorm rolls in, he expects what he finds: Dick already downstairs, sat in his chair by the fire. Nix pours himself a glass of whiskey on the sideboard.

“Couldn’t sleep?” he asks.

Dick shrugs, book loose in his hand as he watches Lew drain his glass in one go. Lightning flashes outside once more, thunder hot on its trails. The wind howls around the house, rain drumming insistently on the windows. 

Dick turns his head slightly, eyes going far away and Lew quickly steps forward.

“Hey Dick,” he says with no real idea of what to say next.

Dick shakes his head as if to clear it and and looks at him, expectant.

“Want to – “ _come upstairs_ is on the tip of his tongue and for a horrible moment he thinks he actually said it. Hell, he didn’t even know he’d been _thinking it_. Dick doesn’t react though so Nix swallows and says instead, “-play scrabble?”

Dick’s lips twitch, amused. “Scrabble?” 

“Yeah, scrabble, what the hell’s wrong with scrabble?”

“Nothing,” Dick says, still amused.

They play scrabble. Unsurprisingly Dick wins. Nix consoles himself that he’s always hated the game. 

-*-*-

Harry comes to visit. They sit out on the porch after dinner and laugh as Harry regales them with stories about Kitty and his new life. He seems happy, and Nix can't get over how good it is to see him. Having Harry in their midst dispels the weird tension that's been hanging over them these last few weeks, tension that Lew hadn’t even noticed until it had gone. Dick is the most relaxed Nix has ever seen, sprawling on the deck with easy smiles. Harry keeps shooting Lew looks, as if to say _who is this guy_? Nix just shrugs and smiles, as much at a loss. It feels good though, Harry smiling and laughing across the decking from Nix, while Dick is warm and steady at his side.

Harry leaves a few days later and the door shutting after him is like a severance to the world. It’s just the two of them again, not more than a foot apart. Nix doesn’t move, heart in his throat and all his awareness shrunk down to Dick standing behind him. Something is thick in the air between them. It feels like unfinished business.

“Nix.”

Nix looks straight up into Dick’s eyes.

“Are you going to ask me to play scrabble again?” Dick asks, voice low, glint in his eye.

Nix snorts, laughter dying away as Dick carefully grasps his chin. Somehow it doesn’t come as a surprise when Dick kisses him.

Fin

**Author's Note:**

> Somedays your writing goes as planned, somedays scrabble becomes a plot point. C'est la vie. By the way, scrabble is making an historically inaccurate cameo here, three years too early.
> 
> I guess this is fluff really. All of the great Winters/Nixon stories seem to have already been told, most of them here on the AO3. I just wanted to write something for a pairing that warms the cockles of my heart.


End file.
